McConnell believes that Serco and Buffett Berkshire Hathaway shareholders gave the London Company (fd. 1997) its name to signal a historical connection to the Virginia Company of London (fd. 1606) and alleges that these crony shareholders directed stakes of over $100 million each in at least five London Co invests responsible for the wrongful deaths and cat-bond hits on 9/11.
Service Corp International – disposed of 9/11 cat-bond body bits at nearby crematoria; Alliant Techsystems Inc, (ATK) – vaporized evidence of contract hits, rocket-fuel arson; White Mountains Insurance Group – sponsored Buffett’s Fireman’s Fund 9/11 cat bonds; Corrections Corp of America – hired prisoners to extort silence and redact documents; Sturm, Ruger & Company, Incorporated – equipped killers with semi-automatic pistols.
McConnell’s claims should be examined in the context of the prequel link and the allegedly criminal redaction (spoliation) of DSN numbers at the pdf document displayed therein.
Prequel 1:
#1999: Marine Links Serco Red Switch Global Guardian to London Co Cat Bond Triggers, Buffett Offutt 9/11
“So where was Warren Buffett the morning of 9/11 and what was he doing?
Mr. Buffett was reportedly at his home in Omaha, Nebraska watching TV when he heard about the terrorist attacks. He was getting ready to host his "last annual golf charity event" which just happened to be at the U.S. Strategic Command headquarters located at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha. Offutt AFB is, coincidentally, where President G. W. Bush flew to on Air Force One later in the day for "safety." This early golf charity event hosted by Mr. Buffett was to include celebrities, professional athletes, and a small group of business leaders in which one of these business leaders became a very lucky person.
This very lucky person was Ann Tatlock, the CEO of Fiduciary Trust Co. International. Now what made Mrs. Tatlock such a lucky person for being invited to this charity event that morning? Mrs. Tatlock not only works in the World Trade Center, but her offices were right where Flight 175 crashed into the South WTC Tower. She was escorted by military officers to an officer's lounge with TV to watch it happen.”
“SEGRET/fX1
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES STRATEGIC COMMAND
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, NEBRASKA 68113-6300
GLOBAL GUARDIAN 2001-2 EXERCISE ORDER
SECURITY INSTRUCTIONS (U)
1. (U) The long.title of this ANNEX is ANNEX X (GLOBAL GUARDLAN 2001·2) to the USSTRATCOM Joint Exercise Directive (JED). The short title is the GLOBAL GUARDIAN (GG)
200 I-2 EXORD.
2. (U) This document is classified SECRET to protect information revealing actual intelligence and operations plans and procedures of US Military Forces and Federal Agencies. Information will be disseminated only to those agencies and personnel whose official duties specifically require knowledge of the EXORD.
3. (U) Releasability to Australian, Canadian and British Exercise Participants
a. (U) Certain portions of this EXORD are authorized for release to Australian, Canadian, and British participants. Information marked as UNCLASSIFIED (U), CONFIDENTIAL/IREL TO USA, AUS, CAN and GBR (C/IREL), or SECRET//REL TO USA, AUS, CAN and GBR (S//REL) is authorized for release to Australian, Canadian, and British exercise participants. Access is granted provided these individuals are properly cleared and their official duties specifically require knowledge of this information.
b. (U) Information within this EXORD portion marked as (S), (C), SECRET, or CONFIDENTIAL is not authorized for release to foreign national exercise participants. This information is restricted to US-access only.
c. (U) The EXORD in its entirety will remain in US custody and will not be disseminated to Australian, Canadian, or British personnel or agencies. Australian, Canadian, and British personnel will not be permitted unrestricted access to this document.
d. (U) Extracts of releasable information from this EXORD are authorized provided the extracts are screened by US personnel to ensure that no US-Only information is contained in the extract.
4. (U) This document contains information affecting the national defense of the United States within the meaning of the espionage laws: Title 18.United States Code, sections 793 and 794. The transmission or release of information contained herein, in any manner, to any unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
5. (U) Reproduction of this document is authorized.
Derived From: Multiple Sources
Declassify On: Xl, X4
…
q. (U) Coordinate conference calls [using Serco’s Defense Red Switch Neytwork]. [DSN numbers redacted] the safety, security, and use/control of nuclear weapons.
t. (l J) Conduct decision making conferencing and transmit force direction/force management messages and situation monitoring tactical warning/attack assessment (TW/AA) messages over Nuclear Command and Control System (NCCS) C4l systems within established time guidelines.
u. (H) Simulate C4 outages with MESL events to exercise SBS ability to determine operational impacts and suggested workarounds within time restraints of the exercise.
v. (U) Operate each C3 node (NAOC, MCCC, ABNCP, airborne communications aircraft, and USSTRATCOM Operations Center) communications systems in a locally degraded environment. Simulate C3 outages between C3 nodes requiring alternate routes to maintain connectivity.”
“The Defense Switched Network (DSN) is a primary information transfer network for the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN). The DSN provides the worldwide non-secure voice, secure voice, data, facsimile, and video teleconferencing services forDOD Command and Control (C2) elements, their supporting activities engaged in logistics, personnel, engin
In 1982, the DSN was designated by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) as the provider of long-distance communications service for the DOD. The DSN is designated as a primary system of communication during peacetime, periods of crisis, preattack, non-nuclear, and post-attack phases of war. The network assures nonblocking service for users with "flash" and "flash override" precedence capabilities. Key users include the National Command Authorities, Commanders of the Combatant Commands, and subordinate component commanders. DSN replaced the older Autovon system.”
“How Berkshire Built a Super-Cat Powerhouse
By Emil Lee | More Articles
August 29, 2007 | Comments (0)
August 29, 2007 | Comments (0)
As of 2006, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A ) (NYSE: BRK-B ) wrote the third-largest amount of net premiums in the reinsurance industry -- an amazing feat for a firm that started out making textiles. One of the key foundations of Berkshire's reinsurance business is its super-catastrophe line, and the company's annual shareholder letters offer an incredibly valuable case study of that segment's success. Let's take a closer look at the integral components of Berkshire's reinsurance division.
Against all odds Berkshire's success in super-cat reinsurance, which insures very large catastrophic loss events, becomes more impressive in light of the challenges it faced. Capable reinsurers such as RenaissanceRe (NYSE: RNR ) , XL Capital (NYSE: XL ) , and Montpelier Re(NYSE: MRH ) compete fiercely for market share. In addition, barriers to entry are minimal, with recently formed reinsurers such as Flagstone Re (NYSE: FSR ) and Greenlight Re(Nasdaq: GLRE ) almost constantly emerging. Lastly, reinsurance is a commodity to some extent.
Thus, Berkshire boss Warren Buffett had to overcome considerable obstacles to build his reinsurance operations into the juggernaut they are today. Since day one, Buffett based his strategy on three simple strengths: speed, size, and security.
Speed: Fastest policy in the West
In Buffett's words, "We can supply a quote faster than anyone in the business." To most Fools, this might seem unnecessary. When multimillion-dollar policies with billion-dollar loss exposures are on the line, wouldn't both parties involved want to take their sweet time? Not necessarily.
Suppose you take a spin at a roulette table with 100 numbers on it. If the ball lands on the number 55, you suffer a crippling financial loss. How much would you pay to get out of this situation, and how quickly would you want to get out of it before the ball has a chance to land?
Sometimes, reinsurance customers find themselves in similar situations, sitting on ultra-large risks that could either cripple or bankrupt their company. What if an earthquake happens in a key metropolitan area tomorrow? In these cases, speed is critical, and Berkshire has a quick draw. The company benefits from favorable odds when customers are more concerned with speed, not price.
Size: Might makes right as Buffett has said, "We will issue policies with limits larger than anyone else is prepared to write." The lower the policy limits are, the hotter the competition. This should make intuitive sense. For example, supposed you wanted to borrow a hundred bucks. You could go to your friend, your local bank, or your credit card company. Heck, some of them won't even charge you interest for a year.
Now, suppose you wanted to borrow $10 billion. The pool of possible lenders narrows dramatically. Only a handful of financial institutions would be prepared to write a $10 billion check, and they definitely wouldn't offer you a "one year interest-free!" teaser.
Similarly, Berkshire's ability to write ultra-large policies narrows the pool of competitors, helping to insulate the firm from competitive pressures, and allowing it to compete in the less commoditized (and thus higher-margin) portions of the market.
Security: In Berkshire we trust
Lastly, Berkshire's Fort Knox-like balance sheet makes it one of only eight U.S. companies to earn an AAA credit rating. The only other such firm that wrote insurance, General Electric(NYSE: GE ) , sold that portion of its business to Swiss Re.
A sterling credit rating reassures customers that Berkshire will be able to pay even under the most stressful conditions. Since Berkshire specializes in ultra-large risks, customers are extra-careful to do business only with insurers they know will pay up.
Although it wasn't in the super-cat area, a good example of this caution came when Lloyds wanted to get rid of its asbestos liability. The backers for those liabilities were Lloyd's "Names," a group of unfortunate wealthy individuals who agreed to take on insurance risks in exchange for a cut of the profits. A while back, those Names got blindsided by an avalanche of asbestos and environmental liabilities, a disaster that threatened Lloyds' very existence.
Asbestos liabilities have haunted the Names for more than a decade. They've begged for an end to the suffering, and many have stated, "I just want to sleep easy." Recently, Lloyd's turned to a reinsurer they knew would be able to make payments for decades to come. As the CEO of Equitas, the Lloyd's unit that assumed the liability, stated after transferring the risk to Berkshire, "We think we have just bought [the Names] the world's best mattress."
That sounds like a customer much more concerned with security than price, and it helps to explain how Berkshire continues to use its competitive advantages of speed, size, and security to build its super-cat reinsurance moat.
Berkshire has used similarly astute strategies to build enormously valuable competitive advantages in all of its insurance lines. That's one of the primary reasons why many investors are betting that Berkshire's intrinsic value far exceeds its current share price. Like Berkshire's nervous super-cat customers, it seems we'll have to spin the wheel and see how that bet turns out.
.. Fool contributor Emil Lee is an analyst and a disciple of value investing. He doesn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned above. Emil appreciates your comments, concerns, and complaints. Montpelier Re is both a Stock Advisor and a Hidden Gems recommendation. The Motley Fool's disclosure policy is always prepared for the worst.”
“Sturm, Ruger & Company, Incorporated is a Southport, Connecticut–based firearmmanufacturing company, better known by the shortened name Ruger. Sturm, Ruger produces bolt-action, semi-
“PRIVATE PRISONS FIRM STIRS CONCERNS [Check the role of Field McConnell's sister Kristine Marcy in the racketeering deployment of Serco and CCA prisoners for the cat-bond killings (hits) of 9/11]
San Diego Union Tribune 1998-08-31Controversial CCA To Begin Service Here
The world's largest private prison operator, which has come under fire for the way it runs some of its facilities, has chosen San Diego County to be part of its burgeoning California empire. Corrections Corp. of America took over the 200-bed former San Diego city jail on Otay Mesa in late May and will likely accept its first prisoners, federal immigration detainees, within a couple of weeks. The company also broke ground in June on a 1,000-bed medium-security jail next door -- without a contract for prisoners to fill it -- and is bidding to house prisoners at the now-vacant 900-bed county jail in downtown San Diego.
CCA has had success in filling the 79 prisons it operates in the United States, Australia, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. But it has come under scrutiny lately, most notably for the way it runs the facility it built in Youngstown, Ohio.
The 1,700-bed prison there has seen at least 13 stabbings, two homicides and the escape of six inmates -- five of them murderers -since it opened 14 months ago. That compares with 12 assaults and no homicides for Ohio's entire public prison system of 49,000 inmates in 1997. After the escapes, Ohio Gov. George Voinovich immediately wanted to close the prison. He backed off only after the state attorney general warned that would involve a long, hard and perhaps unsuccessful court battle. The governor then asked U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno to review the controversy, which has become a focal point for the public vs. private prison debate going on across the country.
Private prison operators such as CCA started emerging to help fill the needs of government agencies nationwide about 15 years ago, but the debate on whether they can operate more efficiently and more cheaply than public prisons continues. Opponents say private operators are a bad alternative and do not have the ability to safely house dangerous felons. The debate is growing more heated as many state prison systems, including California's, are running out of space and have no money set aside to build facilities. Federal agencies also are turning to private contractors because they do not have the time or money to build their own prisons.
When CCA entered into an agreement with San Diego County to take over the 200-bed jail on Otay Mesa from Wackenhut Corrections Corp. and to build the 1,000-bed jail next door, CCA had no contracts to fill these beds.
The world's largest private prison operator, which has come under fire for the way it runs some of its facilities, has chosen San Diego County to be part of its burgeoning California empire. Corrections Corp. of America took over the 200-bed former San Diego city jail on Otay Mesa in late May and will likely accept its first prisoners, federal immigration detainees, within a couple of weeks. The company also broke ground in June on a 1,000-bed medium-security jail next door -- without a contract for prisoners to fill it -- and is bidding to house prisoners at the now-vacant 900-bed county jail in downtown San Diego.
CCA has had success in filling the 79 prisons it operates in the United States, Australia, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. But it has come under scrutiny lately, most notably for the way it runs the facility it built in Youngstown, Ohio.
The 1,700-bed prison there has seen at least 13 stabbings, two homicides and the escape of six inmates -- five of them murderers -since it opened 14 months ago. That compares with 12 assaults and no homicides for Ohio's entire public prison system of 49,000 inmates in 1997. After the escapes, Ohio Gov. George Voinovich immediately wanted to close the prison. He backed off only after the state attorney general warned that would involve a long, hard and perhaps unsuccessful court battle. The governor then asked U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno to review the controversy, which has become a focal point for the public vs. private prison debate going on across the country.
Private prison operators such as CCA started emerging to help fill the needs of government agencies nationwide about 15 years ago, but the debate on whether they can operate more efficiently and more cheaply than public prisons continues. Opponents say private operators are a bad alternative and do not have the ability to safely house dangerous felons. The debate is growing more heated as many state prison systems, including California's, are running out of space and have no money set aside to build facilities. Federal agencies also are turning to private contractors because they do not have the time or money to build their own prisons.
When CCA entered into an agreement with San Diego County to take over the 200-bed jail on Otay Mesa from Wackenhut Corrections Corp. and to build the 1,000-bed jail next door, CCA had no contracts to fill these beds.
The company also is building a 2,304-bed prison in California City in Kern County and plans to start building a 1,024-bed prison in Mendota outside Fresno by the end of the year, again with no contracts in hand. This is the typical mode of operation for CCA, whose executives often cite the motto "Build it and they will come." "Clearly the need for INS and U.S. Marshals Service beds is pretty prevalent up and down the state," said David Myers, president of CCA's West Coast operation. He said state prisons are reaching capacity as well. Kristine Marcy, a federal immigration official in Washington, D.C., agreed. "I wouldn't worry about finding people to fill those beds, not at all," she said. Marcy said there are "loads and loads" of federal prisoners in lock-ups throughout the Western region, waiting for trials, sentences or deportation. Immigration detainees range from low-to high-security levels and prisons must be able to accommodate them, she said. In addition to the pending contract with CCA for the 200-bed, medium-security jail, the federal government also has announced a need for 800 to 1,000 beds in Southern California for INS and U.S. Marshals Service prisoners. Any private prison operator may submit a bid, Marcy said. In Youngstown, a city of 90,000 people, CCA's proposal to build a 1,700-inmate prison was attractive because it would bring 300 construction and 500 prison jobs to town.
This all happened before George McKelvey became mayor. And if he could reshape history, he said, things would be different. "I sure as hell wouldn't build a private prison in my town, I'll tell you that," he said.
This all happened before George McKelvey became mayor. And if he could reshape history, he said, things would be different. "I sure as hell wouldn't build a private prison in my town, I'll tell you that," he said.
"It . . . doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out." The city
joined inmates in a lawsuit against CCA, and as a result the court has ordered the company to move out more than 200 misclassified prisoners who were too dangerous to be placed in a medium-security prison. Youngstown officials also contend CCA did not promptly report the July escapes to local police, even as guards were searching fields around the prison. In a telephone interview last week, Myers of CCA said the prison was sent misclassified prisoners by officials in Washington, D.C. "I'm not blaming anyone, really," he said, adding that there is an 18-to 24-month "shakedown" period that a start-up prison needs to get the kinks out. Myers denied reports that local police were not notified in a timely manner. "It was a situation where a lot of inmates were sent into an institution all at one time," he said. "They have differences that they sometimes develop while they're in the institution. . . . Corrections officials in public prisons or private prisons don't always know about that, and then things happen." Myers, who said he was a warden in four Texas prisons for 15 years before joining the private sector, contended that the Youngstown facility's problems are no different from those found in public prisons.
"There is no escape-proof prison," he said. When Wackenhut ran the Otay Mesa jail, it housed 200 city prisoners, who have since been moved to the new county jail in downtown San Diego. Officials say the old county jail will have to be refurbished before prisoners are placed there again. CCA took over the Otay Mesa jail after winning the latest round of bidding. The company hired the 74 former Wackenhut employees and put them to work rehearsing how to run the jail as if it were full of inmates. Marcy of INS said the contract between her agency and CCA to send federal prisoners to the 200-bed jail will likely be signed within two weeks. After hearing about CCA's plans in San Diego County, Youngstown's McKelvey had some advice for officials here: "Beware. . . . If your local officials don't do their homework on who is coming into that facility, you're going to face the same challenges we faced," he said. Rich Robinson, the deputy chief administrative officer for San Diego County in charge of the downtown jail project, said he had heard reports about the Youngstown controversy. But he said there are two sides to every story.
"There would be reason for concern in the event that there are high-risk prisoners in that facility," Robinson said. "We'd want to have some say."
"They're (CCA) obviously going to have some questions to answer before we'd enter into any agreement," he said. Marcy said that although she and other INS officials are concerned about the Youngstown situation, she has had good experiences with CCA facilities in Kansas, Tennessee and Arizona.
INS officials will draft their contracts carefully, she said, and then closely monitor any facility managed by a private operator, whether it's CCA or another company. "The Department of Justice wants to always be careful when it privatizes," she said. "We don't just walk away and stop paying attention." Ohio is not the only place CCA has run into trouble. CCA has also been criticized for problems with escapes and misclassified inmates at its facility in Houston. In 1996, two convicted sex offenders escaped from that prison, which was intended to hold federal immigration detainees, the same type of inmates headed for the Otay Mesa jail. Texas officials didn't know that the prison held more than 200 sex offenders from Oregon. Allan Polunsky, the head of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, said the problem was that no agency had oversight over the facility. "CCA slipped 200 dangerous criminals into a facility that had been designed as a minimum-security facility at best," Polunsky said. "Most people in the criminal justice system were unaware of its existence until the escapes took place."
To safeguard such similar problems, Polunsky suggested that contracts with CCA be "very detailed and tight and specific to the scope of the mission of the facility." Myers of CCA dismissed Polunsky's comments, saying he is a citizen, not a corrections expert. Besides, he said, "Allan Polunsky is
against private prisons."
Copyright 1998 Union-Tribune Publishing Co."
Field McConnell, United States Naval Academy, 1971; Forensic Economist; 30 year airline and 22 year military pilot; 23,000 hours of safety; Tel: 715 307 8222
David Hawkins Tel: 604 542-0891 Forensic Economist; former leader of oil-well blow-out teams; now sponsors Grand Juries in CSI Crime and Safety Investigation
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